Param Vir winner stands ‘tall’ at OTA

Tuesday brought a hint of nostalgia, as the 35 course mates of the Short Service Commission-12 (SS-12) congregated at the Officers’ Training Academy (OTA) here, reminiscing about the Major and the academy. At the Drill Square, Colonel Ramakrishnan, the senior-most officer of SS-12 and Major Parameshwaran’s friend, recalled how they would put in extra hours at night, exercising to be ‘fighting fit’. 

The retired Colonel was disappointed that despite being awarded the highest military decoration, the Major’s contribution remained forgotten. He was the only officer from the OTA to be bestowed with this honour. 

Last year, when the course mates got together at Thiruvananthapuram under Col. KG Nair, they decided to install a statue in memory of the gallant officer’s bravery. 

Mahar Regiment, to which Major Parameshwaran belonged, contributed Rs 1 lakh, which went into the crafting of the 6-ft tall bronze statue, erected for Rs 5.5 lakh. 

“We decided to unveil the statue on January 16 because we passed out as commissioned officers on this date in 1972,” said Col Ramakrishnan, who was present at the ceremony along with Lt Gen Ram Pratap, Lt Gen Rajan Ravindran, Commandant, OTA, and R Ramanathan, the Major’s brother. The Major was deployed in Sri Lanka as part of IPKF, to participate in Operation Pawan, against the LTTE. 

On November 25, 1987, his column was attacked by militants, and he was shot in the chest. The solider snatched the rifle from the militant and shot him dead. Despite grievous injuries, he continued giving orders to his men till his last breath. The column killed five militants and recovered three rifles and two rocket launchers.  

Col Ramakrishnan, who was also a part of the IPKF, said, “The people were against the army fighting the LTTE. This is why the Major didn’t get his due.” The Major, fondly called ‘Paddy’ by his friends, rejected a course in management to join the Army. His brother said, “Just before he left for Jaffna, he gave us a thumb’s up sign! Paddy was clear that he wanted to join the infantry, be at the forefront of the battle,” he concluded.